Where Are All The African-Americans? [merged threads]

[Wolf Hopper]

I just saw a tease commerical for a local sports show - and the subject line of this thread was the question they asked - - followed up by saying that there are now fewer blacks in baseball -- - and, get this, that SEVEN TEAMS in the majors now ONLY HAVE ONE AFRICAN AMERICAN PLAYER on their active roster.

Is this true? Can anyone name some/all of the seven?

(I can't watch the show tonight - and am curious about this claim.)

[GGC]

Amazingly, from an historical POV, the Red Sox aren't one of them. They have Damian Jackson and Robert Person. I wouldn't be surprised if they were mentioned anyways, because Person was only recently activated.

As an on-topic aside, I went to a New Britain Rock Cats-Portland Seadogs game. I only noticed one dark-skinned Seadog, but I wasn't doing a head count and couldn't see into the dugout.

This is a topic that has come up recently from time to time on some other forums. Unfortunately, I really have too little knowledge on the subject to comment constructively.

GGC

[LeGrandOrange]

The African-Americans probably got replaced by the hispanics and because some are dark-skinned this will throw people off.

The teams I think got mentioned:

1. Anaheim - Garret Anderson
2. Boston - Damian Jackson
3. Houston - Brian Hunter
4. Milwaukee - Royce Clayton
5. Montréal - Ron Calloway
6. New York Yankees - Charles Gipson
7. Saint Louis - Kerry Robinson

Obviously, it cuts close with a few cases. Yankees will throw most off because Bernie Williams doesn't sound hispanic but he is.

I also guessed wrong with Boston, apologies to ya.

This could be remedied if baseball marketed itself better, present marketing generally turns off that demographic.

[LeGrandOrange]

I'm not believing that it is a major problem yet, it's only a problem when Jesse Jackson says it is, and when he says it is it bothers me because there's only so much you can do for equality these days, forcing the issue typically leads to undesired results.

I personally think it's more a "sign of the times" than anything. There might be assorted racisms in sport but they're likely between players, I don't think GM's would have that kind of attitude. I really can't seem to find it that big a deal, even with the lack of minority managers, things like that will be difficult to change.

Just saying...

[Gosfgiants]

I think when you walk into this discussion you have to define what an African-American is. Are we looking at this through the racial definetion as a black raised in America? What do dark skinned residents of such countries as the D.R. count as? I think these are very loaded terms. Is the implication of this report that MLB is racist?

[Ytown Tribe fan]

It's a non-story meant to sound like a lead story IMO.

Suppose we use this criteria: how many members of each team wouldn't have been allowed on a major league roster before 1947? Would there be ANY teams with only one or even two players meeting that criteria? Three players? Four players?

The answer of course is no. But by purposefully NOT including darker-skinned Latin players, the reporter has tried to make a story out of this.

[Wolf Hopper]

Originally posted by LeGrandOrange
The African-Americans probably got replaced by the hispanics and because some are dark-skinned this will throw people off.

Agreed - and, nice work on that list. Thanks.

[Wolf Hopper]

Originally posted by Gosfgiants
I think when you walk into this discussion you have to define what an African-American is. Are we looking at this through the racial definetion as a black raised in America?

Pretty sure that's what this report is aiming at - - blacks from America.

Originally posted by Gosfgiants
Is the implication of this report that MLB is racist?

Maybe not - again, I'm at a loss because I could not watch the show. Perhaps, the spin is that blacks in this country are not interested in baseball (as much as basketball and football) - or, that they are not given the opportunity to play the sport in the inner cities, etc. - - you only need a football to play football, and only need a hoop and a ball to play basketball; whereas you need a ball, bat, and several gloves - - and a field to play on - - to play baseball.

I would hope that was the spin - that blacks don't want to play baseball - or that the game is not there for them to take - rather than MLB is racist. Not sure, again, just hope that's the claim.

Anyone in NY/NJ see it? It was on MSG Angles show on Sunday.

[Ytown Tribe fan]

Just a quick example of what nonsense this is, and then I'll shut up about it.

Players on the Anaheim roster who wouldn't have been allowed in the big leagues before 1947:

Garrett Anderson - African-American
Chone Figgins - African-American
Benji Molina -- Puerto Rican
Jose Molina - Puerto Rican
Ramon Ortiz - Dominican
Julio Ramirez - Dominican
Francisco Rodriguez - Venezuelan
Rich Rodriguez - Latino-American

So that's TWO African-Americans on the roster. Does that prove that either A) The Angels are a racist organization? or B) American Blacks aren't as interested in baseball as they "used to be"? or C) Reporters will skew any data and twist any statistics to prove their point?

[LeGrandOrange]

I guessed wrong on Anaheim too. How did I miss Figgy anyway...

BTW, because I guessed wrong, it might be a bad idea to use Anaheim to make a point in this thread.

[pathogan]

...what it means unles you compare the number proportionally to basketball and football,then baseball comes in a woeful third. the participation numbers in baseball are way down to 5% nationwide,below basketball and soccer,so there will eventually be a downside to this.is it an isuue?of course.Does it reflect societal changes?Perhaps.does theevidence suggest an undelying racism in baseball?Only if the players were being paid less then their counterparts,etc. It's far more complicated, as are most things, then a soundbite would suggest...

[SmedIndy]

This is a non-issue. The death of inner-city baseball in this country is a contributor. It's easier to get some shoes and play hoops than spend the time playing baseball.

[sweaver]

Be like Mike.......

On the Yankees, what about Jeter? Or was he not activated at the time? Or does he not count, because of mixed racial heritage?

That's part of what it's come to in the U.S. Those here for a length of time often have interracial backgrounds. Is Tiger Woods black, Asian, or something else?

[nyy26wc]

Originally posted by sweaver
On the Yankees, what about Jeter? Or was he not activated at the time? Or does he not count, because of mixed racial heritage?

I don't remember where I saw this, but in the account that I saw, Jeter was listed as the sole Yankee.

[TGwynn19]

Originally posted by nyy26wc
I don't remember where I saw this, but in the account that I saw, Jeter was listed as the sole Yankee.

What in the world does that mean??????